I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to techniques for power control in a wireless communication environment.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various communication services; for instance, voice, video, packet data, broadcast, and messaging services can be provided via such wireless communication systems. These systems can be multiple-access systems that are capable of supporting communication for multiple terminals by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems.
Generally, a wireless multiple-access communication system can simultaneously support communication for multiple wireless terminals. In such a system, each terminal can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations. This communication link can be established via a single-in-single-out (SISO), multiple-in-signal-out (MISO), or a multiple-in-multiple-out (MIMO) system.
Within a wireless communication system, user equipment units (UEs) and Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) base stations can conduct one or more power control procedures to mitigate the effects of channel propagation path loss and fading, interference within the wireless communication system and/or for other purposes. For example, during a Soft Handover (SHO) operation and/or another suitable network scenario, power control can be conducted through the use and processing of Transmitter Power Control (TPC) commands, which can be generated based on channel measurements performed by respective UEs and/or base stations.
In one example, a UE undergoing a SHO operation can have a plurality of radio links established with respective disparate base stations. Such base stations can be part of an active Radio Link Set (RLS) and can submit respective TPC command bits to the UE in one or more given slots in time. Upon receipt, the UE can combine the TPC command bits to determine a final TPC command. However, due to network propagation delays and/or other factors, a combining window utilized by the UE can in some cases be misaligned with the slot boundaries associated with respective radio links in the active Radio Link Set (RLS) for TPC command transmission. As a result, in the event that TPC command bits are generated and transmitted close to a slot boundary, a UE can in some cases attempt to combine TPC command bits transmitted in different slots. As TPC command bits can be transmitted in different slots using differing polarities, the attempted combining of TPC command bits with opposing polarity can in turn lead to reduced power control performance at the UE and/or other negative impacts on system performance.
In view of at least the above, it would be desirable to implement improved techniques for processing power control commands in a wireless communication system.